I fell into writing about health shortly after grad school, where I realized I didn't want to work in a lab for the rest of my life! My areas of interest are the brain and behavior, as well as what influences the decisions we make about our health, and how the media helps and hinders people's understanding of health issues. As an undergraduate, I studied English Literature and Biopsychology at Vassar College, and got my PhD in Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience at CUNY's Graduate Center in New York City, where I grew up and live now. My day job is as Associate Editor with the health website, TheDoctorWillSeeYouNow.com. My work has appeared in several other publications, including TheAtlantic.com and YogaGlo.com, and I'm particularly excited to join the Forbes health team. Email me at alicegwalton [at] gmail [dot] com .

Internet Addiction Shows Up In the Brain

There’s been a lot of controversy over the concept of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), especially as the new DSM-V prepares to launch. Some feel that there’s little evidence to warrant IAD as being recognized as an actual disorder. Others disagree. Earlier research has found some changes in the brain of people who are hooked on the Web, and a new study shows reductions in volume of certain areas of the brain andin its the white matter – the highways of connection between brain cells – of young people who are addicted to the Internet. What’s interesting is that these brain changes mirror the ones in people who are addicted to other kinds of things, like heroin, for example.

Researchers quizzed 35 people between the ages of 14 and 21 about their Internet use and feelings about how it affected their lives. Among the eight questions were some like:

“Do you feel nervous, temperamental, depressed, or sensitive when trying to reduce or quit Internet use?” “Have you taken the risk of losing a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of the Internet?” “Have you lied to your family members, therapist, or others to hide the truth of your involvement with the Internet?” “Do you use the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving an anxious mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilty, anxiety, or depression)?”

If respondents answered “yes” to at least five of the questions, as half of them did, they were tagged as having IAD. To confirm the youngsters’ habits, the researchers asked their family and friends about how much their habits were “disrupting others’ lives despite the consequences.”

Then the participants underwent brain scans to look at any differences that might exist in the brains of the IAD sufferers and in controls. They found several areas of decreased volume in IAD participants, and for some of these areas, there was a negative relationship between volume and the length of time the participants had been addicted to the Internet. In other words, the longer they were addicted, the less volume they had in certain regions.

There were also altered connections in the white matter tracts between brain cells, which suggests disruptions in how the neurons “talk” to one another.

The areas that were affected in the people who were diagnosed with IAD are thought to govern emotional processing, executive thinking skills and attention, and cognitive control. What’s more, the brain changes found in this study are thought to be similar to those involved in other kinds of addiction, like alcohol and drugs. Earlier research had suggested similar links, but this study seems to add to the growing body of evidence that Internet addiction may actually exist.

People who suffer from IAD don’t just spend a lot of time on the computer, but the authors say they also have significant problems in life, like “impaired individual psychological well-being, academic failure and reduced work performance.”

As always, there’s the lingering question of which came first, the chicken or the egg. In this case, it’s not clear whether people became addicted to the Internet first and brain changes then followed, or whether the brain was already wired differently, predisposing the young brains to addiction.

It will probably take a while to figure out this ever-present question that plagues science. Rather than being a straight either/or situation, it could be more of a back-and-forth: brains could be predisposed (genetically and physiologically) to addiction, then addiction develops, then brain changes exaggerate – and so on and so forth.

It will be interesting to see how the study will affect the debate. Since it seems like we can become addicted to just about anything – substances and behaviors alike – it may not be surprising that Internet addiction is a real thing. More work will be needed to understand the phenomenon more fully, but in the meantime, it can’t hurt to turn off the computer and give your brain a little rest.

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“It may not be surprising that Internet addiction is a real thing” – not at all surprising! And would not be surprised to learn it’s a progressive disease, like other addictions. Gambling addiction also comes to mind.

An interesting read~ I often wonder about myself~ lol! I enjoy my work so much and the learning aspect of using the internet.

I get frustrated at first when unable to be on the keyboard. Like yesterday, my pc came down with a virus, but I am aware of how much I have to be grateful for in this life and went about doing other things for my home, like creating a DIY drip water system from a bucket and punctured soaker hose.

Thanks Alice for the heads up about this study. But after reading it I am still of the opinion that there is little or no evidence to support the idea of “Internet addiction.” Internet addiction remains a metaphor useful to some and off-putting to others. It’s not yet even close to a diagnosis that could inform treatment decisions. A closer look at this study shows they have not tilted the debate at all.

Of course, some people use the Internet too much for their own good, have trouble stopping, lie about the overuse, get all widgety when away from the keyboard, use it as a mood regulator, and even mess up their lives. And, of course, what they do leads to noticeable changes to their brain. Heck, everything we do changes our brains.

First problem: The group is not a unique group differing from controls only in terms of Internet use. Table 1 shows that the problematic users were also significantly more depressed relative to the controls. Might the changes be the result of depression? Of trying to treat depression with the Internet rather than something else?

Second, imagine if the researchers called their scale the IOU Scale (Internet Over Use), instead of the IAD. We would have exactly the same findings but addiction would not even be considered. There is no connection to addiction other than the arbitrary name selected by the scale-creators.

I want to say this clearly: The essential clinical questions remain untouched when it comes to problematic Internet use: Is it an addiction? Is it a symptom of another syndrome (depression? anxiety)? Is it an impulse control problem? Maybe a compulsion (is someone with OCD “addicted” to handwashing or is someone with Tourette’s “addicted” to tic-ing)? We need to know the answers; prematurely calling it an addiction will make it that much harder for people to accept the eventual understanding when research is complete.

Here’s a conclusion more in line with the actual results, I just changed a coupe of words the researchers used: “Our results suggested that long-term problematic Internet use would result in brain structural alterations, which probably contributed to chronic dysfunction in subjects with who are depressed and over-use the Internet. The current study may shed further light on the potential brain effects of depression and Internet over-use.” Now that makes sense. If one of these students showed up in my office the first thing I would do is make sure to treat the depression. And if my admittedly non-scientific anecdotal and limited clinical sample has any generalizeablity then if you treat the depression (or the anxiety or the social inhibition or the sexual conflicts) then the problematic internet use ceases to be so problematic.

So, and again to make sure I’m getting my point across (and sorry for being repetitive) diagnoses have serious consequences; new ones should not be minted without evidence; and just like “sex addiction” for which there is no good evidence, there is not yet any good evidence to support “Internet addiction.” To say anything else, I believe, is dangerous.

This is a rather poorly written article. This IAD concept is “qualified” as a disorder because the effects of using the internet too much are EXACTLY the same as the effects of using too much of ANYTHING! I like how the article relates it specifically to heroin though. Hah! I guess whatever you need to do to get more hits on your article so you can keep your job, right?

“What’s interesting is that these brain changes mirror the ones in people who are addicted to other kinds of things, like heroin, for example.”

The keywords there are “for example,” because you can substitute “heroin” for practically anything that somebody is very addicted to. Internet Addiction Disorder is no more real than Book Addiction Disorder, Driving Addiction Disorder, or Writing Addiction Disorder and so on.

Covered this as an upcoming phenomenon in a radio show last year in campus, as a query into its existence…you just confirmed it (oopsie) With more jobs becoming IT-oriented, and the Internet being a part of IT…this is a really informative piece, especially about the effects of IAD.

While the craving people must use the Internet uncontrolled is a quite fresh perception, which has been carried to community thought just lately. In addition, it is still a very debatable question if the internet addiction exists or not. Several say that Internet is addictive to the point that it can control people’s life. On the other hand, some people say that it is not the same situation like getting drugs or get drunk tremendous. Nonetheless, Internet is affecting people who use it comprehensively no matter if it is called addictive or not.